A Fool Eternal
by dingbat91
Summary: Short oneshot, Naruto centric, Minor Naru/Saku & spoilers from around chapter 484! - 'He stood staring across the road, his worst nightmare having come to pass, trying to find out just what went wrong…'


**A fool eternal**  
**by Dingbat91**

_A/N: Greetings all! Dingbat91 here! Sorry I've been away for so long from writing! College is busy work nowadays and that has had to be my primary focus, but not that the semester has changed and I have a little free time on my hands I decided to write this up! Enjoy!  
PS – WARNING ANIME FANS! MANGA SPOILERS!_

_

* * *

_It's a sunny day out in the wilderness of fire country, the sun shining proudly on the place below; many believed sunny days were blessings from the sun to those that lived in the country which name follows it, burning bright in the world.

And the Will of fire that drove the people forward…

Naruto Uzumaki however, could not see the world the way they did right now.

He stood staring across the road, his worst nightmare having come to pass, trying to find out just what went wrong…

Was it back exploring and training? His mind brought him back to his adventures with his sensei…

"Gaki!" Jiraya shouts out, the Blond looks across with a smile on his face as he runs over, the Sennin holding a double lollypop in his hand, one of many a signal to take a break.

It was moments like those where he was happiest, where he felt that the love of a family, where he had seen so much that he wanted to protect; children playing out in the street with their mothers watching smiles, Old men talking happily of days gone by as they sat in chairs and basked in the sun after years of hard work. Where friends jovially chatted as they walked past.

A world living outside of hatred or war.

However those days vanished in a flash, Pain had seen to that, his mind built fury but quashed it in but a flash, Pain had put his faith in Naruto and sacrificed his life to restore as much as he could of the damage from the fight. It should've been enough for him, but the fact his family had been torn again still let that anger seep through, that pain stinging in his chest.

'No' he though, that's not where it had gone wrong…

Was it Orochimaru's arrival, stealing his best friend away and turning him into something evil monstrous, that lived without mercy and killed without hesitation. A man Naruto had gone to save time and time again, only to find that the darkness clawed him back in and continued the sickening metamorphosis?

Naruto heard "Dobe" echo in his head, he imaged himself with team 7 again, waiting for Kakashi to turn up late for a mission to go catch that damn cat again, where they worked together side by side, quiet but respectful of each other's skill.

Now the man stood with eyes colder than ice and a stone heart to match, not seeing anything more than objects in the way of his never ending revenge.

'No' he though, that's not where it had gone wrong…

Was it the moment his heart was stolen by a pink haired goddess, one he knew had used him relentlessly to get her own ends without understanding the pain it made him suffer for so long as she pined for another, yet his heart never leaving her? A few moments of scathing remarks from her were worth more than weeks of praise by the village (thought that never happened…)

The day she begged him, pleaded something to him that he could not refuse, but chipped away at his soul all day, every day. Something he still could not achieve, his one true failure.

'No' he though, that's not where it had gone wrong…

Was it back at the academy, when he had watched his classmates and future friends talk to their families, while he himself was shunned away?

"He didn't make it?"

"No, he was the only one"

"Thank god, we couldn't have HIM running around as a ninja, the idea of using the kyu"

"SSSSH!"

The years of endless beatings, curse words and disrespect for the village he lived in and wanted to protect without a moment's hesitation again and again and again, where he had lived most of his life, the streets, while dangerous, were ones he could call home.

'No' he though, that's not where it had gone wrong…but now he know what had

He looked forward to see his brother, hatred ripped through his own body at the sight of the man who he couldn't bring to call anything other than brother, no matter how much he wanted to.

'It wasn't his fault that he was like this' Naruto thought as he watched, his defenses raised ready.

He now started to understand what had gone wrong…

His friends, the kage's, even his love and his mentor had given up. And he just couldn't do that; he couldn't bring himself to believe the man he knew was gone forever. That his brother had sold his soul, his pride, and his bonds just for something so _pathetically_ _simple_

But he had watched as the man in front of him had gone for the killing blow, not hesitating for a moment to end her life. He had watched his friends sneak behind his back to fight against a man he was so determined to save because they couldn't watch anymore.

They had given up…

A clone appeared next to him, beginning to now routine work of building chakra up and forming the chakra for his Rasenshuriken, as his brothers eyes lit up crimson, the rage flowing out of his body like no man he had seen before…

He couldn't see anymore, the anger tore him inside out as he charged at his friend, his brother, both determined that one would die today.

And just as the first hits crossed over, Naruto finally realized the answer to his question.

The fire inside all their hearts had gone, his Nindo destroyed before him, his love crying in agony of the scene she hated replaying itself again, his first teacher looking ashamed at what had become of those he had chosen to teach.

He had given up hope and accepted reality.

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread"

Naruto was a fool eternal; he had declared that to Jirarya in his hospital bed. But his friends betraying him, the sight of his brother attempting to end their teammate's life and the whispers of resignation that his friends had been giving him time and time again had etched away at his coverings better than any jutsu.

They had made him grow up, taken away the fool that had dared to dream and left him a cold hard man that could no longer deny what he as a fool could ignore forever

"That's where it had gone wrong" he thought as his brother…no, the living ghost of his friend collapsed. Dead on the floor.

But as arms rushed around him, holding him desperately close as pink hear and terrified eyes looked into his soul and as his eye saw her mouth "_I'm sorry Naruto…Thank you" _his eyes widening at the revelation

He realized that just maybe… That not being a fool, while unbelievably heart breaking.

"_I love you_"

Would make it all right again.


End file.
